The Characters
Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger, as a Campbellian Mythological Hero The Myth before the Myth The Dark Tower is an edifice of infinite power ruling a near infinite number of parallel universes, or the Multiverse. It is the cornerstone and the linchpin of all the universes. It is unclear who exactly built it, or when. In every universe in the Multiverse there is a manifestation of the Tower itself. In our reality (the reality of Earth, the reality which we inhabit), this manifestation is a single red wild rose growing in a vacant lot in Manhattan. The prevailing belief is that if the Dark Tower is destroyed, the entire Multiverse will crumble and chaos will ensue. This is the setting for the battle between the forces of good (the White), represented by the Tet corporation headed by Roland Deschain, and the forces of evil (the Red), represented by the Sombra Corporation headed by the Crimson King. The Crimson King seeks to destroy and/or dominate our universe by taking possession of the lot and bulldozing over the rose, while Roland Deschain’s mission is to purchase the vacant lot and prevent the Rose from being bulldozed over. That is only the first stage in the battle for the control of the entire Multiverse. As I’ve mentioned in my analysis of Star Wars, combining the Western genre wth the Fantasy or Sci Fi genre is a pretty common occurrence, because of the great similarity between the rules of the two genres, and I’ve also refereed to the obvious influence of the Spaghetti Westerns (especially Sergio Leone’s the Man with no Name Trilogy starring Clint Eastwood) on the Dark Tower. And the rules of the Western have always been very simple - the Good rides into town, encounters the Bad, gets beaten by him, fights him, defeats him, gets the girl and rides into the sunset (or in our case, to another universe) - with or without the girl... The Western scenarios can be divided into three categories: "The Good, the Bad and the Girl"; Two fight over a woman (or over something else), and a woman stands between them); "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"; Two fight and a third is required to take a side; "The Good, the Bad and the So and So"; Two (or more) go out together to achieve a common goal. To which category does the Dark Tower belong? We shall see… The Hero's Journey Two Worlds (mundane and special) 　 　'' ''the Ordinary World and the Call to Adventure '' 　 ''　 The Departure Roland of Gilead, the last gunslinger, sets out on a quest to catch the man in black, the first of many steps towards his ultimate destination - the Dark Tower The preparation and departure process for the Party and its hero leader brings up in certain sections "the Lord of the Rings", and in other sections than "the Wizard of Oz", and is a necessary phase in any mythological story. the Call to Adventure '' ''　 　'' ''Refusal of the Call '' ''　 　 the HELPER '' ''the ALLY '' ''the SIDEKICK '' ''the MENTOR the SUPERNATURAL AID; Wizards and Boon-Givers '' The gathering of friends (=helpers) phase begins in the second book. Along his journey to the Dark Tower, Roland meets a great number of both friends and enemies. Roland's first Ka-tet (the Ka-tet of the Nineteen and Ninety-one) included Cuthbert Allgood, Jamie De Curry, and Alain Johns. For most of the way he is accompanied by a group of people who together with him form the Ka-tet of the Nineteen and Ninety-nine, consisting of Jake Chambers, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, and Oy (joined later in the series by Donald Callahan). Among his many enemies on the way are the Man in Black and The Crimson King. ''the THRESHOLD OF ADVENTURE 　'' 　 ''Meeting the THRESHOLD GUARDIAN: "You cannot pass." In the Waste Lands, the Ka-Tet boards Blaine, a highly intelligent, computerized Monorail train which is insane due to system degradation. It announces its intention to derail itself with them aboard, but agrees to take them all the way to Topeka - the end of the line - if they can defeat it in a riddle contest. Crossing the THRESHOLD 　'' 　 ''INITIATION 　'' ''　 TESTS 1. Brother-Battle and Dragon-Battle '' 　 ''2. Dismemberment and Crucifixion 3. Abduction, Night-sea Journey, and Wonder Journey The Crimson King, known to some as Los' or Ram Abbalah, is the main antagonist the Dark Tower series, as well as the novels Insomnia and Black House. Described as "Gan's crazy side", the Crimson King is the ultimate ruler of the Red, and the archetypal embodiment of evil in the multiverse. His goal is to topple the Dark Tower which serves as the lynchpin of time and space, destroying the multitude of universes which revolve around it so that he can rule in the primordial chaos which follows. King drew inspiration for the Crimson King from the 1969 song and album In the Court of the Crimson King by British progressive rock band King Crimson. The name of the album appears in Insomnia to signify the protagonist's entry into the Crimson King's realm. The ride to Topeka, Kansas through the Wastelands on Blaine the Mono. the SUPREME ORDEAL or the BELLY OF THE WHALE or APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE 　'' 　 ''　 the SUPREME ORDEAL 　 　'' ''SACRED MARRIAGE: '' ''"Meeting with the Goddess" or "Woman as the Temptress" Roland saves Odetta/Detta/Susanna, but she becomes Eddie's love interest. Throughout the series, Roland had other lovers, including Ellie (the Gunslinger). Roland's True Love is Susan Delgado. A large portion of Wizard and Glass is dedicated to the story of Roland and Susan’s meeting and tragic love, which began when they were both 15-16 (Romeo and Juliet, anyone?) Temptation 　'' ''　 FATHER ATONEMENT: '' ''ATONEMENT or AT-ONE-MENT with the father or father figure 　'' ''　 APOTHEOSIS 　'' ''　 ELIXIR THEFT 　'' ''　 the RETURN 　'' 　 ''the RETURN - 1. FLIGHT '' ''　 　 the RETURN – 2. the ROAD BACK 　'' 　 ''1. Return 　'' 　 ''2. Resurrection ("the rumors of my death…") '' Roland is put to sleep by the Man in Black. When he wakes up, ten years have passed and there is a skeleton next to him - what he assumes to be the man in black ''3. Rescue from without 　'' ''　 4. Threshold Struggle '' ''　 　 REFUSAL OF THE RETURN 　'' 　 ''RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR 　'' 　 ''Freedom to Live 　'' 　 ''MASTER OF TWO WORLDS: two possible endings 　'' 　 ''Common Mythical Elements 　'' 　 ''The Mentor 　'' 　 ''The Oracle 　'' 　 ''The Prophecy 　'' 　 ''The Fallen Hero 　'' 　 ''“Wearing the Enemy’s skin” '' ''　 　 The Shapeshifter (the Hero isn’t sure he can trust this character) 　'' 　 ''Taking an Animal’s Form (=not Human) Oy Descending into an Abyss or a cave 　'' 　 ''Chasing a lone animal in an enchanted forest '' 　 ''　 Magical Objects – Legacy of the Father Figure or a Present from the Oracle 　'' ''　 Apotheosis 　'' ''　 'Summary ' Is Roland Deschain's story over? As I've mentioned before, there are several possible endings to the Mythological Hero's quest: Going up to heaven in a blaze of glory Returning to the "gray world" Becoming a (demy) God - apotheosis Stepping down for a "flesh and blood king" One thing is clear - as long as King lives, he can add whatever he sees fit to Roland's story. Even after his death, it should very easy to reach into his large estate for more details about the Dark Tower in general and about Roland's quest in particular. Susannah Dean "The Lady of Shadows," so called for her multiple personalities and metaphorically, multiple shadows, is Odetta Holmes, a black woman who is active in the civil rights movement. She is wealthy and missing her legs below the knees after being pushed in front of a subway car by a person named Jack Mort. Odetta is completely unaware that she has an alternate personality, a violent, predatory woman named Detta. Roland and Eddie are forced to contend with both of these personalities when Odetta's body is forcibly abducted into their world. Eddie Dean Eddie Dean Eddie Dean, AKA "The Prisoner, was a heroin addict who is in the process of smuggling cocaine for the drug lord Enrico Balazar. Since Eddie was headed deeper into addiction (at the hands of his brother Henry) or prison (at the hands of the government), or worse (at the hands of his drug lord), he decides to throw his lot in with Roland, although with deep misgivings that he occasionally gives vent to in the form of angry outbursts. Jake Chambers The symbolic (and later adopted) son of Roland. First appears in the series in the Gunslinger but gets killed by the second half of the book. Returns to life and the Dark Tower in the third book, the Wastelands